The business behind the show

Crest theater to close for renovations, Bigfoot executive says

A year after buying the former Majestic Crest theater in Westwood, Bigfoot Entertainment plans to close the movie house for an unspecified period of time to undergo renovations.

Ashley Jordan, chief executive of Big Foot Entertainment, based in Venice, said the theater would temporarily close in early October after it finishes hosting the Singafest Asian Film Festival.

Jordan said the Bigfoot Crest Theater -- a Los Angeles landmark founded in 1941 by Frances Seymour Fonda, wife of actor Henry Fonda -- needed renovations. The newly appointed executive said it was not clear how extensive the upgrades would be, or when the theater would reopen.

"We're going to assess the future and how much we want to put into it,'' Jordan said. "We have to figure out what we are going to do with it."

Jordan declined to say whether the 460-seat theater, which Bigfoot acquired last year for about $4 million, was up for sale.

The company, whose owner is German investor and filmmaker Michael Gleissner, produces action and horror movies as well as TV programs and reality shows. Bigfoot had planned to use the theater to showcase films it produced or acquired.

Carmike Cinemas, which Bigfoot tapped to manage the theater, will not continue its relationship with the Crest, Jordan said, declining to specify the reasons. Carmike representatives were not immediately available for comment.